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For centuries the benchmark for worth in the world economy was gold. The so-called “Gold Standard” was in place until the 1930s.

In some countries, it was considered safer to keep your wealth in your mouth in the form of a gold tooth than deposit it in a bank.

Gold still continues to be a safe place to store your wealth, but it doesn’t earn interest or grow, and it’s not very practical to use or wear if is worth a lot.

The stock market also became a popular benchmark of value in the 20th century, analysts boasted that stocks and shares can increase more in value on average other short spans of time than property or other assets.

Although there is some short term truth to what they say, their optimism bursts along with the bubble every time there is a market crash. And you can’t live or vacation in a share certificate.

This brings us round to investment property. Investment property, has traditionally been viewed as the realm of the rich. Images of investment property tycoons spring to mind.

But as we move on into 21st century, it is not just the wealthy that are buying investment property, it is the safe haven for the riches of the middle class too.

The trend is led mainly y so-called “baby boomers” who are coming to retirement age and looking to keep their saving safe, but still working for them. On top of this, investment real estate – at home or abroad – can also provide a lot of pleasure.

Be it a vacation property by the beach or a mountain cabin, near the pistes. An investment property doesn’t just earn you money, it can be great fun!

As we see an increasing proportion of the developed world’s population buying real estate investments we can expect to see a shift in the use of economic benchmarks. More weight will be given to the value of the property market and less to precious metals and even stock markets.

Indeed, don’t invest in gold when you can earn more and vacation by the beach with investment property.

You did your homework. You carefully chose you new Internet home business, but despite a proven track record of success for others before you, your business just does not want to get off the ground.

Before you throw in the towel and assume you cannot succeed, consider the following list, which outlines some of the most common reasons new Internet home businesses lack success.

1. No clearly-defined goals

When you set out to work your new business, did you write down specific, clearly defined goals? And do you revisit those goals frequently, adjusting them as needed? One of the worst mistakes you can make is to skip this step. Goals are powerful. They give you direction and purpose. Every decision you make regarding your Internet home business should be geared toward achieving your specific goals.

2. Unrealistic expectations

With all the hype surrounding Internet home business opportunities, it is common to have unrealistic expectations about your earnings potential. So many of the opportunities on the Web show “proof” of your inevitable success in the form of paychecks, sales reports, and testimonials. Though the evidence may be genuine, it is never typical and nothing you should expect from your own business at the very beginning. If you assume your home business will make you a millionaire in a matter of a few months, you should reevaluate your expectations.

3. Not enough time

Of all the would-be entrepreneurs that start a home business, an estimated 95% of them fail. One of the leading reasons is expecting too much too soon. Frankly, it takes most Internet home businesses 6 months or more to get off the ground. This is because it takes time to see marketing results. Give your new business time before you give up.

4. No clear marketing campaign

Think of your marketing campaign as a recipe for success. This formula should include a mixture of ingredients. Unfortunately, so many people simply try one form of marketing, decide after a short while that it is not working, and then switch to something else, abandoning the original strategy. Instead, you should undertake several different approaches at once. Some marketing techniques will drive traffic to your site, while others will build awareness, while another’s aim is simply to build credibility in the marketplace. Strive to find the proper balance of the different marketing tactics. Then create a definite marketing plan and stick to it.

5. Ineffective Web site

Once potential customers visit your Web site, does your message propel them to action? It is not enough to just direct traffic to your site. If the site is unsuccessful in converting prospects to sales, you need to rewrite your text to compel your visitors to take action. You can achieve this by addressing what your visitor will get if they buy your product or service. Let them know what is in it for them. You also need to make sure taking action is quick and easy.

6. Not asking for help

Do not insist on doing everything all by yourself. Everyone needs help from time to time, even you. Hopefully, your Internet home business includes either a telephone number or email address you can use to get support. If you are struggling, call someone who can help you. Also, visit blogs on home businesses. There, you will likely find others who have experienced what you are going through who can give you useful advice.

7. Not treating your home business like a business

A home business is still a business, after all, so you need to treat it like one. Do not believe the claims that your business will be up and running on autopilot in 15 minutes. Any business requires hard work and determination, and a home business is no exception. In the beginning especially, you will need to devote countless hours to marketing your business and adjusting your plan as you go. Though it is true that an Internet home business may ultimately seem to run itself, this happens only after devoting months, or even years, to marketing it. Every successful entrepreneur works hard…very hard.

Now, go back to the beginning of the list and evaluate your own Internet home business? Have you written clearly defined goals? Do you have realistic expectations? Have you devoted enough time to judge the success or failure of your business? Are you using a broad combination of marketing techniques? Does your Web site propel visitors to take action? Do you seek help from others when you have questions? Are you treating your Internet home business like a real business? Take care of these most common obstacles, and then move forward with your new outlook and launch your business to success.

Investment casting is one of the oldest known metalworking processes in existence. Beginning more than 5,000 years ago as “lost wax investment casting” the historical process used bee’s wax to form a pattern which was then used to create various components and products.

Fast forward to today, thousands of years later and the science remains the same. However, investment casting foundries all over the world have introduced new innovations such as high-tech waxes, advanced refractory materials, and the many advances made possible by computers and computer aided design.

Similar to the results of our ancient ancestors when they did it, casting provides unparalleled accuracy, repeatability, and quality — this makes the investment casting of small parts and large parts in high quality alloys a fantastic alternative to other less precise fabricating methods.

The Investment Casting Process: An Overview

Design
The investment casting process begins with a design. This can be a drawing or an existing prototype part.

Mold Making The next step is mold making. From a drawing, design, or prototype the investment casting foundry produces an injection mold. This wax pattern injection mold is then machined using computer assisted design and/or computer aided manufacturing, a marriage of both ancient science and cutting edge technology.

Wax Pattern Assembly

Multiple wax pattern injection molds are assembled on a tree or “sprue” to form the full part.

Coating

In the next part of the process, a ceramic shell or prime slurry is applied to the tree or sprue, coating the wax assembly in a fine ceramic liquid. While the slurry is still wet, it is covered in a very fine sand and then allowed to dry before another slurry and more sand is applied. This is repeated until there are 6 or more layers of ceramic shell on the wax assembly

Wax Removal

Next in the process, the ceramic shells are prepared for the wax assembly to be removed from the inside. This is done with an autoclave, where the ceramic shells are put on a tray and the autoclave uses steam to melt the wax inside the mold.

High Temp Burnout

After wax is removed the ceramic shells are subjected to a high-temperature burnout to cure the ceramic molds. After this process they are prepared for preheating and casting.

Metal Melting and Casting

In this step of the precision investment casting process, high quality alloys are melted in lined furnaces. This step is absolutely critical to ensure the casting quality. Also in this part of the process, degassing and alloying are performed to ensure the melted metal’s properties are optimal for pouring. This metal is then cast into the ceramic mold.

Cooling
After cooling, the metal casting takes the shape of what was once the wax pattern. Once the casting cools, the ceramic shell is removed with high powered water jets, leaving the casting foundry with a completed metal investment casting.

Cut Off, Grinding, and Finishing
Unwanted gates are then cut off with a saw and further removed by grinding. This is followed by de-burring and hand tooling, machining, and finishing resulting in a completed and finished casting.

While this is one specific way investment casting is performed, there are also other methods of creating castings — such as vacuum casting, which is typically used for Aluminum casting. Just as the ancient history of investment casting has seen the process through thousands of years of innovation, the technological advancements of the modern day and of casting foundries such as Alcumet Incorporated continue to prove that the process will always have a place in the manufacturing of new parts, components and products.